Recently in Recommended Reading Category

The International Game Developers Association's Game Writing Special Interest Group just released a book with A k Peters, called Writing for Video Game Genres: From RPG to RTS . I was fortunate to have contributed the chapter called Writing for Real-Time Strategy Games. The pages are graced by many popular game writers, including Haris Orkin, Richard Dansky, Tracy Seamester, Lee Sheldon, Andy Walsh, Sand Chen, Evan Skolnick, and that's just the start! The book can be orderd online, and should be on retail shelves soon. This is the third book released by the WSIG and could be a helpful a part of any game students or aspiring game writers collection. It can also serve as a good resource for those of us in the field.

    Lee Sheldon, writer and designer, has written a very good op-ed piece for Game Career Guide on game writers. Lee and I have butted heads on more than one occasion about the narrative designer role in game development, but I think at the end of the day our goals are the same. I’d even dare to call him a narrative designer. Lee advocates innovation, craft, education, and vision. He has a talent that has spanned many media formats, and his wisdom speaks for itself. Read the full article at GameCareerGuide.com

“…skill sets for writing and designing are very different. They simply must be practiced in concert for both to perform their best.” - Lee Sheldon

    Sande Chen has written a cover feature for Gamasutra on the creation of more meaningful games. Some months ago I was happy to be interviewed by Sande, and am now glad to see her article published. Creating meaning in games is what narrative design is all about! Whatever the message might be, there is a legacy of techniques by which audio, visual, and now interactivity, can be designed as to enhance communication with the Viewer/User/Player. Read the full feature on Gamasutra.com

“As champions of the story, narrative designers are more than just dialog writers. By using themes and other tools of storytelling, they oversee the process of crafting a meaningful experience throughout the game.” - Sande Chen